Did Fans Just Find Evidence X Factor Australia Is Rigged?

Fans of the popular reality singing competition The X Factor are calling foul on producers, accusing the show of being rigged after a popular mother and daughter duo were erased from the show despite finishing in the top 15.

As TV Tonight reports, via the Sydney Morning Herald, the program’s official Facebook page was swamped with comments from angry viewers late last month and early this month after Bianca and Johanna Vitalone’s performances mysteriously disappeared from the broadcast.

The Tamworth-based country singers had made it through to the boot camp stage of the reality show, even receiving a standing ovation from the studio audience. The pair only narrowly missed a spot in judge Guy Sebastian’s final five.

However, despite the duo’s popularity, none of Bianca and Johanna’s performances were played during any of the show’s broadcasted episodes, leaving fans scratching their heads and accusing the show of being fixed.

Taking to Facebook, mother Johanna expressed confusion about the pair’s treatment at the hands of Channel Seven, for whom the show has proved a mammoth success, and the producers of The X Factor, Fremantle Media.

“Thank you all so much for the support,” she wrote, “we are also confused as to why we were treated this way and totally ignored considering the reaction we got from the huge audience on the night.”

Image via Sydney Morning Herald

Viewers said they were “absolutely disgusted” the mother and daughter singing team had been erased from the show in favour of other contestants who were “ratings grabbers”, flooding the show’s Facebook page with angry comments.

“I won’t be watching again and so will the thousands of people who only watched because of these two girls,” wrote one commenter. “I see many of you are as disgusted as me about only seeing who X Factor thinks has a heartstrings story!” wrote another.

Many irate viewers went so far as to take the Vitalones’ omission as evidence that the show is rigged. “So disgusted in this show,” wrote one such commenter. “Obviously they have a winner in mind already.”

Speaking to Mumbrella, via the Sydney Morning Herald, a spokesman for Fremantle Media said Bianca and Johanna were among 40 other finalists and not all could be given air time. He said all performers were informed there were no guarantees they would appear in any broadcasts of the show.